Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Pours with the appropriate dark, murky stout color. A little diacetyl present in the flavor. Otherwise a creamy, smooth drinking beer that is quite quaffable. Aromas of malt and oats hit the nose while a creaminess envelops the palate. A decent offering from Gray's and a tasty stout. (284 characters)

Pours a dark black with a little head that fades away to nothing. Chocolaty to the nose with hints of coffee. Tastes like carbonated coffee. It starts off watery and finishes with a thick malty taste. I didn't get the "oatmeal" flavor at all here, which was disappointing. Overall, I was not impressed. (302 characters)

Appears a dark pitch black color with light frothing tan head forming thick. Head was speckled thin after each sip, aroma has smoked dark chocolate notes with hints of soft oatmeal. Flavor has a creamy base malt layer, with hints of watered down dark chocolate and coffee flavors. No bad tasting beers here this is a nice dark stout, maybe a bit watered down but excellent stuff. Mouthfeel like I said a bit thin but some decen flavor to make up for it. Overall I'm not planning to pick up another bottle or six pack anytime soon, this stuff is pseudocraft beer compared to some other beers out there. (601 characters)

pours with a nice tan head that falls kind of quickly but blankets the beer throughout, opaque black, no light goes through it. Has a sweet, malty, roasty aroma. Aroma is probably one of the best qualities of this beer. Mouthfeel is kind of light, thin. Taste - kind of stout lite, very little oatmeal creaminess, some sourness in the taste. Pretty drinkable, wouldn't turn it down if offered. (393 characters)

Maybe just one or two shades lighter than complete darkness. No suprise for a stout. A lot of carbonation, but not much head retention or lacing. Smell is overwhelmingly roasted, burnt barley not much else has a chance to get through. Not really any hop presance shows up at all in the taste. Probalble normal for this style. A lot of dark, bitter chocolate strong roasted malt flavors. Kind of like the ashtray after you have smoked a good cigar. That's not a slam. I kind of like that. Mouthfeel was way to watery and thin. I expect to have to chew a beer that looks like this to get it down. I'm sure there are a ton of much better oatmeal stouts that would blow this out of the water. For a local product that is reasonably priced and available everywhere, I think it is a decent choice. (791 characters)

Large aggressive bubbles fizzled out rapidly, leaving a pool of lonely darkness with a glow of mahogany at the perimeter. First impression upon pouring is that this beer looks and acts like very flat cola. The smell is decent though, with layers of chocalote and raisins. Only the dark chocolate makes its presence in the taste, and minimally so, which is then followed by coffee notes and lingering burnt toast. Given the lean flavor profile, I actually found the taste to be more enjoyable as the brew neared room temperature. Incredibly thin in body for a stout, which doesn't impress much but does make for an easily drinkable session beer. (644 characters)

The smell is of roasted dark malt - some chocolate. There is something chemical-ish I can't quite put my finger on, but it is mild.

The taste is of roasted cocoa powder with some dark fruit and a metallic-like finish.

It is watery thin, though some roast lingers a bit.

A mediocre stout, IMO. Not sure if metallic notes come from burnt malt or poorly used hops. It's drinkable enough, but lacks the rich, silky malt character associated with the style. Could be smoother. But, again, "inoffensive" enough to be drinkable. (596 characters)

Gotta love those muttonchops... Anyway, this stuff pours a deep sienna topped by a finger of khaki foam. The nose comprises light roasted malts, toasted funky wheat, and a dusting of mild cocoa powder. The taste doesn't wanna make any waves, so it just copies the smell, despite how boring that makes it come across. There's definitely a blackened pretzel character abiding here. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a fluid feel that borders on nigh-watery. Overall, a meek little oatmeal stout, one that's not offensive in any way but also doesn't seem to wanna try to be very good. (647 characters)

I got this brew from my mother who was vacationing with family in Wisconsin, and this was one of the beers she brought back for me. Thanks mom.

Poured a 12oz. bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance - This beer's initial appearance made me sad. It produced an 1/8 finger head that dissipated immediately. It had absolutely no head retention. It is mostly opaque black with ruby edges only perceptible when held to a light. The lack of head and watery texture of the beer doesn't bode well with me.

Smell - The scent isn't that bad - what I can smell of it. I had to dig deep, but I get notes of dark roasted malt that emits the scents of cocoa powder and slightly roasted coffee. I wish the smell was a little bolder.

Taste - I predominately get flavors of cocoa powder and coffee. There is a bitter flavor at the end of the drink. The taste is okay, but I feel like it is missing something. There is nothing that jumps out as special.

Mouthfeel - Oh man, this is not good. This beer is really watery and light bodied, and there is hardly any carbonation - extremely flat feeling. It goes down very smooth - like water.

Drinkability - This beer isn't all that great. The mouthfeel kills it for me. It tastes good and smells good, but it drinks like water and doesn't look appealing - and that is just not what I was looking for. There are way better stouts out there. I am glad I tried it for the experience, but I certainly won't be searching for this one again. (1,466 characters)

A-It was a very dark, nearly black color. The head was tan, but went away rather rapidly.S-Earthy and roasted nose.T-Roasted almost burnt, little to no sweetness.M-Very thin and watery, not as thick as the usual OS.D-It was quite drinkable for a stout. (313 characters)

Poured from 12oz bottle into pint glass. Opaque brown/black with 1/4 inch translucent brown near head. Head itself dissipates rather quickly leaving a slight patchy lacing. Aroma is inviting with all the standard trappings of an oatmeal stout. Taste leaves quite a bit to be desired and as others have stated there is a strange overbearing banana aftertaste which is something I'm not accustomed to in any variety of stout. Mouthfeel is faintly rich and could be exactly what I expected were it not for the high carbonation. Overall I'd say this is not a good showing for an oatmeal stout. (589 characters)

Poured this from a 12oz brown bottle into an English pint glass. My label is different than the one pictured here, but from looking on Gray's website, it appears this is the same beer.

Appearance: Pours a thick dark mahogany color, almost black. Very little head. The head that is here falls to just a thin coating of light brown foam.

Smell: Very strong smell of roasted barley, like sticking your head in a fresh bag of the stuff. The barley is so strong that I really don't pick up anything else in the smell.

Taste: Has a lot more of a CO2 bite than I am used to in stouts, almost hides some of the flavor. Once the intial bite fades, there is the taste of roasted barley with just a hint of hops at the end.

Mouthfeel: Pretty high carbonation. Not as much body as you would expect from an oatmeal beer.

Drinkability: The high level of carbonation is a big detractor for me. The CO2 gives a strong bite at the beginning, but there really isn't much flavor behind it. Not bad, but I have had a lot more flavorful examples of Oatmeal Stout. (1,058 characters)

Pours a very dark, opaque brownish-black that only lets a little bit of light through on the edges. One finger head that does not last long at all. Smells like and oatmeal stout. Taste is terribly disappointing. It lacks the roasted oatmeal taste that I thought was sort of essential for the style (it being an oatmeal stout and all). It's not a bad beer, just a bad oatmeal stout. Much better choices are out there. (416 characters)

Label promised "Big, Black, Bold". It definitely was BLACK although I've had blacker. Head was deep and tan - as expected. Sniff was a bit funky, which is not entirely off-style (though expected more in Belgian Ale), but it was enough to cause me to re-check the bottling date. The mouthfeel was towards a porter than a stout - one expects creaminess in a black stout - don't they? The first mouthful made me wonder what all the "black" was - because the taste was lighter than a porter. I was expecting a stout "punch". If it had been categorized as a Porter I would have been less surprised. This is my first taste of a Grays Brewing Company beer so I'll have to test out their IPA or hopefully they make a 2xIPA which are my favored styles. I drink and love heavy black stouts and deep oak bourbon porters with a cigar - this beer would be quickly overshadowed by a cigar. (875 characters)

Poured from a bottle into a Surly pint glass. Small head, recedes quickly leaving minimal lacing. Slight scent of a stout, but very minor, poor taste, none of the big flavors I would expect. No coffee, no chocolate, just nothing. Thin mouthfeel, very watery. Would not seek out to drink again. Between this and the Porter, I am not impressed with Gray's. (354 characters)

Tasted good until the Nast metal undercurrent came in.... Like it was made in an old rusty pale.... Nasty! It is tasting like it was made in a old rusty bucket compaired to most oatmeal stouts. Bent padel and Brew house have way better oatmeal souts. Lake Superior Breing Company also makes a better oatmeal Stout. (314 characters)